Margaret Thatcher was Britain’s first female Prime Minister and served three consecutive terms in Office. She was the driving force behind a broken Britain, and a lot of her actioned policies were greeted with heavy opposition. She was responsible privatising state-owned industries, reforming trade unions, lowering taxes and reducing social expenditure across the board. Thatcher’s policies reduced inflation, but unemployment sharply increased during her years in power. Thatcher was a strong character and there is still a public split as to whether she was a successful leader, or a ruthless dictator.

It came as a surprise, then, when last week she was pronounced dead after suffering from a stroke. The public reaction was explosive as deep seated emotions of the past roared back into life. Many celebrated her death and purchased the song ‘ding dong the witch is dead’ from the ‘Wizard of Oz’, which reached number 2 in the music charts. Others mourned her existence, admiring her as one of Britain’s great leaders.

Her funeral will be held in London at St Paul’s Cathedral and will be attended by a number of top names, from BBC radio presenter Terry Wogan, to Her Majesty The Queen. The funeral service will be preceeded by a procession through the streets of London. The coffin is currently at the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft in the Palace of Westminster and during the procession will follow a to St Paul’s via St Clement Danes Chapel.

Thatcher Funeral Route

Image via lbc.co.uk